Many people wonder if California will one day fall off of North America and end up sinking into the Pacific Ocean. Luckily, this will never happen.
California is bisected by the widely known, San Andreas Fault. The San Andreas Fault is a Strike-Slip Fault that lies on the boundary of the Pacific and North American Plates. One thing that many people don't know is that the two plates are grinding past each other and not pulling apart or smashing underneath each other. As a result, Los Angeles (which lies on the Pacific Plate), is slowly moving closer to San Francisco (which lies on the North American Plate), at a rate of 1.3-1.5 inches annually.
It would be
impossible for California to fall into the Pacific Ocean, because
The Pacific Ocean is on the same plate that the western half of California lies on!
Many people wonder if California will one day fall off of North America and end up sinking into the Pacific Ocean. Luckily, this will never happen.
Gregory,
ReplyDeleteDo these plates move at a constant annual rate or is it highly variable? Is the Pacific Plate rotating counter clockwise or is it actually shifting North? You peeked my curiosity.
TN
The Pacific Plate is moving in a North-Westerly Direction. Off the Coast of South America and Antarctica, the Pacific Plate is pulling away from the Antarctic and Nazca Plates. In New Zealand, Alaska, and off the coast of Japan, the Pacific Plate is pushing underneath the North American, Filipino, and Australian Plates. In California, the North American and Pacific Plates are just moving past each other. The movement of the Pacific Plate can be seen in the Hawaiian Islands. There is a hotspot underneath Hawaii where magma is pushing to the surface. It remains stationary while the Pacific Plate moves. The newest Hawaiian island is being created underneath the ocean in the South-east, and the oldest Hawaiian island, is sinking back into the ocean in the North-west.
DeleteVery interesting! Hope the sinking Hawaiian island takes its time because we all love Hawaii!
DeleteTN